Best of 2016
As 2017 kicks 2016 to the curb, take a minute to revisit our most-loved blog posts of the year. Whether they’re new to you, or you need a review, check out these blog posts for inspiration to start the new year. The Google Lesson for Service Contractors Rise of the Machines in Service Industries Photo […]
Trouble selling? Be memorable.
Why is it so difficult to remember even a short speech, but so easy to remember an entire song? For example, what do these 7 digits do for you? 867-5309. Humming yet? Now that I’ve probably lost your attention to Tommy Tutone, I’ll try to make my point. We are creatures of rhyme, story, and […]
Stop Selling Parts and Labor! Sell the Program!
In the first chapter of my book, The Digital Wrap, I quoted Marc Andreessen: “Software is eating the world.” It is not exactly a quote, but rather a reference to the editorial that Marc wrote for the Wall Street Journal back in 2011. Marc is like the godfather of the Internet as he was the […]
Photo Cliches Drive Sales and Retention for Service Contractors
We’ve all heard, and likely loathe, the plethora of bad cliches about pictures. As overused and seemingly meaningless as these cliches are, they hold a literal wealth of knowledge for field service contractors. From new sales to retention, these sayings will drive growth in your field service company: The big picture. Why should service contractors […]
Modern Tools for Service Contractors, Part 3: Outbound Sales and Marketing
Both residential and commercial service contractors rely heavily on new sales for growth. Where residential contractors rely on converting inbound leads, commercial contractors lean on a mix of inbound and outbound tactics. This post lays out a handful of sales tools that are not only easy to use, but also extremely powerful across the entire lifecycle of new sales from […]
What is an Inspection Worth? About 2X What You are Being Paid!
I recently went to Vegas, but I was not there to gamble away my kids’ college funds. Instead, I was participating in the annual western region meeting of the National Association of Fire Equipment Dealers (NAFED). During the meeting, an interesting narrative regarding the value of an inspection job versus the value of repair work […]
Selling Services? Consider Adding Fine Wine and Artisanal Cheese
As the Internet shrinks the world and arms consumers with information on how much things should cost, the service contractor’s service area will shrink as well. Customers will have information on which contractors are nearby, and they will make judgments on who can likely deliver the service for less due to lower expenses for travel time. Customers will also […]
Jesse James’ Advice for Service Contractors
Jesse James, Train Robber I have been to multiple events in the past several months where service contractors from many trades (food equipment repair, fire safety, specialty cleaning) lament the insertion of one or more parties between themselves and their customers. It seems that when they do not directly influence the terms of service with […]
It Pays to Know: How Service Contractors Get Paid For Expertise, Not Just Labor
The best service contracting business model is based upon customers paying a premium for expertise instead of simply paying a markup on parts and labor. When true expertise is offered, the customer perceives that in the long term they will have better outcomes for less money – no callbacks, fewer breakdowns, less energy consumption, higher […]